Spotlight on Emily Xu
It was a particularly scorching day when I trekked out to 55th Street and 4th Ave in Brooklyn to interview nine year old Emily Xu, a participant in NYWC’s writing workshop at the Brooklyn Public Library, Sunset Park Branch. Emily has been a member of the group since last September, and was one of about a dozen young writers gathered in the cool air conditioned library basement that Friday afternoon to write and share their work.
Sunset Park is a South Brooklyn neighborhood straddling Park Slope and Bay Ridge that is home to large immigrant populations, mostly Chinese and Hispanic. The NYWC workshop in Sunset Park draws crowds from both of these communities. We wanted to feature a writer from this popular and unique workshop. We’ve spotlighted several writers from NYWC workshops before, but Emily is the youngest writer I’ve ever interviewed.
What struck me most about Emily is how she is both a pensive writer and playful nine year old. She sat up front, next to NYWC workshop leader Rita Cummings, wearing jean shorts and yellow flip flops. She wrote furiously during the writing time, and was excited to read her writing when it was time to share, a lively poem about a hot summer day. While some of the younger writers got a little restless as the workshop neared a close, circling like sharks in their wheeley chairs as others read their work, Emily’s attention never wavered. She listened attentively and calmly the entire workshop.
Afterwards, she stayed to talk to me about living in Brooklyn, school and writing. She spoke candidly, her pink pony tail holder pulled her shiny hair off her face, revealing tiny silver hoop earrings, warm eyes and a relaxed smile. Emily was born in Queens; she moved with her parents, both originally from Shanghai, to Brooklyn when she was four years old. “I like Brooklyn because it’s not as crowded as Manhattan or as lonely as Queens,” she says of the borough. She lives now in Borough Park with her parents and 18 month old sister.
She’s been writing since she was six years old, both at home and at school. She writes best in the afternoon, usually at the dining room table with the pink notebook her godmother gave her for her birthday. When asked what she likes about writing she explained, “You can express yourself in words and you can really give it all you’ve got, …[and] you can write about anything; you don’t just have to write about one thing!” But the hardest part? “Thinking of ideas of what to write about…!”
Emily writes poems, narratives and made up stories. An avid reader, she is influenced by J.K Rowling and her favorite genres are Fantasy, Adventure, Mystery and Drama.
Emily attends P.S. 1 and will begin 4th grade this fall. When I asked her what her favorite thing about school is, she thought for a brief moment, before answering, “The subjects.” Although, when pressed further, she admitted that Science is actually her least favorite thing in school, and she prefers Reading, Math, Art, and of course Writing.
-Erin Hopkins
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A Rollercoaster Ride
by Emily Xu
As I wait in the line to go on the rollercoaster,
My mind is swirling with thoughts,
What if I fall out of the car?
What if I -
“Aaaaaaaa!!!” the people scream on the rollercoaster
Whooshh!!
Soon, it is my turn,
I slowly get in a car,
I place my sweaty hands on the handle bars,
Up we go!
Up, Up, Up!
Rumble, rumble
Suddenly the car stopps,
“Whoooooshhh!!!” the car zooms down,
“Aaaaaaaaaahhh!!!” I scream,
Finally the ride is over.
